Guide to the S. R. Norton letters MSS.1059
Norton, S.R.--Letters
- Author:
Finding aid prepared by Kristi Robinson and Donnelly Lancaster Walton
- Publication:
W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
Mary Harmon Bryant Hall
2006
500 Hackberry Lane
Box 870266
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 35487-0266
205.348.0500
archives@ua.edu
- Creation:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2010-03-04T10:38-0600
- Language Usage:
English
- Description Rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
S. R. Norton letters
- Unit ID:
MSS.1059
- Repository:
W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
- Quantity:
0.1 Linear feet (35 items)
- Dates:
1864-1865
- Abstract:
Letters of a Union soldier in the 18th Michigan Infantry to his wife, written from Decatur, Stevenson, and Huntsville, Alabama and Nashville, Tennessee, during the Civil War.
Scope and Contents note
A collection of letters to his wife, Hattie E. Norton, Box 89, Adrian, Michigan, written from Decatur, Stevenson, and Huntsville, Alabama, and Nashville, Tennessee. Describes his and his regiment's activities in holding Decatur during the summer and fall of 1864 and the evacuation of Decatur and Huntsville in late November, as General Hood's army moved north into Tennessee. There are no letters for the period from late December 1864 until May 1865.
Most of the letters are written from Decatur. Norton describes living conditions, the layout of camp, his quarters, and fortifications about Decatur. Includes news of his health (he may have suffered from malaria), rumors of Confederate troop movements, news of camp, including a raid on a sutler and complaints of late pay. Several times he explains that news of his regiment's activities in the papers at home is highly exaggerated.
The letters from May 1865 were written from Huntsville, where his regiment was engaged in rounding up stray Confederates and bushwhackers, taking paroles, and speculating on the regiment's mustering out.
- Processing Information:
Processed by
Kristi Robinson, 2003; updated by Donnelly Lancaster, 2006
- Preferred Citation:
Preferred Citation
S. R. Norton letters, W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama.
- Acquisition Information:
Provenance
Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum, 1998
Biographical/Historical note
Union soldier from Adrian, Michigan. Orderly sergeant, Company B, 18th Michigan Infantry until late October 1864, when he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to Company G of the same regiment.
Correspondence - Outgoing, June-October 1864
To Hattie Norton, June 14, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, June 19, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, June 24, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, June 26, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, June 29, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, July 3, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, July 6, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, July 10, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, August 28, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, August 31, 1864 (afternoon) Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, August 31, 1864 (pm) Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, September 13, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, September 22, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, September 27, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, September 30, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, October 1, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, October 3, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
To Hattie Norton, October 16, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 4
Correspondence - Outgoing, October 1864-May 1865
To Hattie Norton, October 25, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 5
To Hattie Norton, October 28, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 5
To Hattie Norton, October 31, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 5
To Hattie Norton, November 6, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 5
To Hattie Norton, November 7, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 5
To Hattie Norton, November 13, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 5
To Hattie Norton, November 16, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 5
To Hattie Norton, November 19, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 5
To Hattie Norton, December 6, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 5
To Hattie Norton, December 17, 1864 Box 5805 Folder 5
To Hattie Norton, May 14, 1865 Box 5805 Folder 5
To Hattie Norton, May 17, 1865 Box 5805 Folder 5
To Hattie Norton, May 21, 1865 Box 5805 Folder 5